Holder for dispensing packages



March 27, 1951 s. FARKAS 2,545,635

HOLDER FOR DISPENSING PACKAGES Filed Sept. 28, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l I I Mrs. WM)- i INVENTOR. L 3 Jegmuur 7&1/[115 HTTORNEY March 27, 1951 s. FARKAS HOLDER FOR DISPENSING PACKAGES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 28, 1948 INVENTOR. Jeymaur fkriaa; BY

Patented Mar. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOLDER FORDISPENSING PACKAGES Seymour Farkas, Astoria, N. Y.

Application September 28, 1948, Serial No. 51,566

Claims. (Cl. 248-309) a This invention relates to a holder for dispensing-type packages, i. e. for boxes or other pack ages arranged to contain a supply of wax paper, aluminum foil or the like and to afiord withdrawal of desired quantities of the contents from time to time. One customarily sold type of such package comprises an elongated cardboard box containing a roll of the sheet material and having an integrally hinged cardboard cover with a forward flap which may be brought down inside the forward wall of the box. The upper edge of such wall is usually provided with a serrated or other cutting edge, or indeed may simply be stiff enough to constitute such a cutting edge without supplemental means, the arrangement in either case being such that the continuous web or sheet from the roll may be pulled out through the slit between the forward Wall and the infolded cover flap, and desired lengths of material may be withdrawn and severed by pulling it at a downward angle across the cutting edge. An-

other and very similar type of roll-containing box has an identical shape but is constructed, as with an overlapping cover flap, to provide a paper withdrawal slotthat in efiect opens along the center of one face; the cutting edge may be carried by the depending cover flap so that after a length of wax paper has been drawn out, it is pulled upward to sever it. Still other boxes of like character and purpose may have somewhat different structural details, but the foregoing will serve as examples of this general class of dispensing boxes for which the present invention is applicable.

While such packages afford a convenient means for enclosing the roll of Wax paper, aluminum foil or the like, and also for dispensing desired lengths of such commodity, the problem remains that the box must usually be removed from a place of storage, and held in the hand whenever a length of paper or foil is to'be taken. While simple roll-mounting devices have been widely used for supporting rolls of paper toweling and like perforated commodities, they do not ordinarily afford severing means to facilitate dispensing portions of a non-perforated sheet. Likewise, while itis possible to provide a dispensing device which may be mounted on a wall or the like and which would include a cutting structure, sucharrangements are relatively complicated and constitute no more than an expensive duplication of the convenient dispensing and severing arrangements universally embodied in commercialpackages of these materials, such assold for householduse. Accordingly, a chief object of the present invention is to providea holder or supporting structure for packages of the character described, designed to retain the package firmly in a readily available position, so that the sheet material can be easily Withdrawn,

' and especially so that the dispensing and severing features of the packages can be employed to their fullest advantage. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder for such packages, having a novel and extremely simple structure, which is inexpensive to make and yet which is particularly strong and rugged. Another object is the provision of a combination device, affording not only improved means for supporting and grippingpackages of the character described but also embodying, preferably in an integral relation, means for supporting or hanging other articles, conveniently, such as may have coordinate or similar use to those contained in the first-mentioned package.

A particularly important object is to provide a structure, accomplishing one or more of the foregoing ends, which is fabricated from a single piece of sheet material, e. g. sheet metal, and which is fully adequate to perform the desired functions of support and retention, even over long periods of use. Yet another object is to provide such devices wherein the package may be very readily inserted, with a minimum of effort or special attention and yet wherein the package is firmly and effectively held against dislodgement either by accident or during the operation of dispensing the desired material.

To these and other ends the following description and accompanying drawings set forth certain presently preferred embodiments of the invention, which may serve, by way of example, to illustratethe novel features and principles involved.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the device;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 33 of Fig. 2; a

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the same device, taken from another direction than Fig. 1 and showing the device in use to hold a box of wax paper and another article;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section on line 'I'! of Fig. 6.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the illustrated structure is conveniently fashioned from a single piece of sheet metal, e. g. aluminum, steel, brass or the like, or in some cases may be made of plastic or like substance, and includes a fiat packing or supporting portion generally designated l and intended, in the specific arrangement shown, to be mounted in a vertical portion. The backing portion H] includes a horizontally elongated section II from which an arm I2 is bent outwardly at one end. The arm [2 has a further portion I3 extending laterally therefrom, i. e. such that the parts II, l2 and 13 com stitute a horizontal U-shape configuration and the portion [3 being out to have a sharp pcint I4. While this sharp-pointed extremity of the described, projecting structure may in some cases embody a plurality of points or another type of pointed arrangement, the simple triangular ar= rangement illustrated is of peculiar convenience for the intended mode of use (as more fully described below( wherein the portion I3 is inserted into the end of the box or other package.

From a lower edge [5 of the backing portion In, conveniently at a locality remote from the end portion I2, there projects a shelf part I5 which has atits forward edge, an upwardly extending guard or flange structure generally designated H, the disposition and shape of the flanged shelf being such that the box or package may be securely seated in or upon it, i. e. with its bottom resting on the shelf and its forward face retained by the guard or flange. In the specific device of Fig. 1 the projecting shelf structure is conveniently bifurcated, for example, by cutting the metal sheet in the manner illustrated, whereby the flange comprises a pair of spaced, co-planar arms i8, '59-, which may extend. somewhat outwardly in a slanting relation to each other, but lying wholly within a common vertical plane. As will become apparent, this particular structure, of a two 'pa'r't flange, permits retention of the package throughout a longer area in the horizontal or lateral direc tion, with an economy of sheet metal;

While the backing portion It) may in some cases have other configurations, a presently preferred shape includes a portion 26 which extends down wardly from the horizontal p'art H and terminates at the edge l5, and also an upper portion 2i rising from the horizontal portion H at the same end of the device. For mounting the holder on a wall, door or the like, holes 22, 23 may be provided in the backing portion, conveniently in the parts El and H -so as to receive appropriate screws or like fastening means (not shown) This specific configuration of the backing portion I0 is advantageous in respect to a saving of metal and also in affording mechanically eflicient localities for fastening and supporting the structure, e. g. at 'the holes 22, 23. A further feature of the assembly comprises a hook 24 depending from a lower part thereof. Most conveniently, the hook may likewise be fashioned of the same, integral piece of sheet metal, e. g. as part of the metal cut from between the wings l8 and 19. Although in some cases this hook portion may be struck downwardly from the shelf it at an intermediate region, it most advantageously consists of a piece continuing downwardly in the plane of the back l0 and curved outin'to a hook configuration as shown in Figs. 1-3.

Referring now specifically to Fig. '4, one eesirable mode of use of the device is there illustrated. This figure shows a box 25 of the usual type containing a roll 26 of wax paper or the like, there being a slit '2'! constituted between the forward edge of the hinged cover 28 and the upper edge 29 of the front wall 30. In the cus-v tomary manner, the web of wax paper or other sheet material can be drawn through the slit 2'! as indicated by the projecting piece 3! of such' material. As will now be readily apparent frominspection of Fig. 4 and from the preceding description, the box is simply seated on the shelf IS, with its forward wall 30 retained by the upward guard or flange structure IT. The point of extremity 13 of the end retained i2 is forced into and through the cardboard end wall 32 of the bo -the box being, as usual, made of cardboard or like materialand thus into a firm, securing relation. Although, if desired, a slit may be first cut into the end of the box at a suitable locality to receive the member l3 (i. e. by using a knife or similar instrument), a convenient manner for inserting the box into the holder is simply to rest it on and within the shelf struc= ture and then to slide it endwise, e. g. to the right as seen in Fig. 4, while positioning the point l4 so that it pierces the end wall 32 and assumes the retaining position shown. While the retaining element 13 may sometimes be disposed to engage other localities on or about the end of the received box, it is very preferably c structedi. e. by suitable choice of the dimen= sions for the arm l2 and of the proportions and relationship of the back part Ilso that the point It pierces the box at or close to the cen= ter of the end wall. As shown in Fig. 4, 'the portion i3 may then pass freely, if necessary, intc the center of the paper roll, which is usually wound on a hollow cardboard tube.

When received by the several parts of the hold er in the manner described above, the box is firmly held against dislodgm'ent in any direction in which it might ordinarily be moved in the course of use or by something striking down upen or against it accidentally. In these respects the shelf portion and end-holding structure more erate in that they are both disposed to fit the box and respectively function to prevent its displacement in different directions. As so held, the box may then be employed for its usual dispens ing function, e; g. by withdrawing the sheet '4? until a desired length has been reached, and then pulling the withdrawn portion angul'arly downwardly so that it is severed by the cutting action of the edge 2'9. At the same time, the 11001;: 24 may be employed for supporting another "at: ticle, such as a box 35 containing folded paper napkins 36 arranged to be successively withdrawn in an opening 31 inthe front of such box. A dispensing package of the last described type can be supported on the hook 24 by means of a hole 38 originally provided or specially cut in the rear wall of the box '35. As a result, the completed device serves a two-fold function in supporting a plurality of dispensing structures, yet may be made, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, in a sun;- plified, unitary form asfrom a single piece of sheet material. It will be understood that an ternatively other articles or household devices may be suspended from the hook 2 1.

Very preferably, the length of the back portion l0, especially its arm H, is such that the shelf I6 is remote from the end retainer l2, l3 by a distance at least equal to half the length of the box 'or package. Conveniently, th'e'backiirg'pun tion has a lateral extent somewhat longer than half the length of the package so that the portion of the latter which projects beyond the shelf, 1. e. on the other side from the end structure l2, l3, constitutes less than half the length of the box. Under these circumstances, the box is positively supported at a plurality of localities, having such overall spacing that the center of gravity of the box lies between them.

Figs. 5, 6 and '7 illustrate another and even simpler embodiment of the invention, the upright backing portion I and its several parts H, 2B and 2 I, as well as the end-gripping structure l2, I3 being conveniently identical with the device of Figs. 1 to 4. Instead of a bifurcated arrangement, the guarded shelf section constitutes simply a forwardly projecting piece 40 of the sheet metal, having at its forward end an upwardly extending, rectangular piece 4| to constitute the flange of the shelf. In this device the depending hook 42 may be fashioned from a separate piece of metal, having an upper, horizontal tab 43 welded or otherwisesecured to the underside of the shelf element 40. It Will now be readily appreciated that the manner of use and the functiona ing of the device in Figs. 5 to '7, to hold a dispensing package in position for ready operation, is essentially the same as described in connection with Fig. 4, one end of the box being pierced and retained by the pointed portion l3 and a remote part of the box being supported at its bottom and sides by the shelf All, backing portion and guard or flange 4 l.

Although not necessarily in all cases, the structure is conveniently predesigned to fit the expected dimensions of a box with which it may be used, i. e. so that the box may fit somewhat snugly between the back portion Ill and the wings l3,

!9 or the corresponding flange 4|. As explained above, the spacing of the pointed extremity !3 from the backing arm II is preferably such that the element l3 pierces the end of the box at the center, for best results with a number of types of wax paper packages now on the market. It will also be noted that while the pointed element is thus engages the box at a locality above its bot-- tom, the flange structures I! and M embrace only a lower part of the front box wall ea; although in some instances these parts may be of greater extent or engage the box at other localities, the depicted arrangement provides a peculiarly sure retention of the package and yet requires a minimum of material for the structure of the holder. While the invention is peculiarly designed for rollembracing boxes of the kind shown at 25 in Fig. 4, it will now be seen that structures of the sort illustrated may be used to hold other types of packages, indeed other dispensing packages such as shown at 35 in Fig. 4, the latter being inserted on its side in the shelf structure and with the pointed element I3 penetrating a corresponding end wall of the box.

It will now be seen that the devices of the invention are peculiarly suited to achieve the stated objects and especially to afford a firm grip of the package of wax paper or the like (e. g. a package of wax paper, aluminum foil or similar sheet material) whereby the package is held in a position for ready use and for full advantage of the dispensing features embodied in it. Although structures of this character may in some instances be made in other ways as by assembling separate pieces or by molding from plastic or the like, a peculiarly economical device is afforded by employing sheet metal and simply cutting and bending it to the required contour and shape, now readily manifest from the drawings and descrip-- tion. Furthermore, the resulting device is rugged and durable and may be easily and firmly mounted on a wall or like support, or even by the use of other fastening means (not shown) in positions either resting upon or depending from horizontal surfaces. At the same time, and with an economy of means, the device may perform a multiple supporting function, not only to hold the box of sheet material but also to retain another dispensing pacakage or the like (as by the hook 24 or 42) in a handy position.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific structures herein shown and described, but may be embodied" in other forms without departure from its spirit.

I claim:

1. A holder for a Wax paper package or the like, comprising a back plate, a shelf projecting from the lower part thereof and having an upright flange at its forward edge, and retaining means projecting from said back plate and laterally spaced from the shelf, said retaining means comprising a sharp-ended element extending substantially parallel to the back plate and shelf and adapted to penetrate the package at an end thereof when the package is resting on the shelf, said guarded shelf means having backdefining means adjacent its rear edge and having upright guard means at its forward edge, said guard means being disposed along a line parallel to the back-defining means and spaced from the lat ter by a distance equal to the front-to-rear thick-. ness of a package which the shelf means is adapted to receive, said sharp-ended means comprising a pointed member disposed to pierce the end wall of a package that has its front wall aligned against the guard means, and said pointed member being disposed, for projection into such received package, at a locality which is closer to the back-defining means than said line, in a direction perpendicular to said line.

2. A holder for a wax paper package or the like, comprising guarded shelf means adapted to support the package at one locality thereof, retaining means spaced from the shelf means and adapted to engage the package supported on the shelf means, at a locality laterally spaced from the first mentioned locality, for preventing displacement of the package relative to the shelf means, and backing means connected to said shelf and retaining means, for mounting the holder on a support, all of the aforesaid means being constituted as corresponding portions of a single metal sheet, the retaining portion being disposed at one lateral end of the backing portion, bent outwardly and laterally to form a horizontal U-shape with said backing portion, said end portion being pointed at the forward end of said U to pierce and hold the end of the package, and the shelf portion being a portion of the metal sheet bent outwardly and upwardly from a bottom edge of said backing portion to form a flanged shelf at a locality laterally remote from the aforesaid end, to support the package remote from its end, said shelf portion being bifurcated so that its upwardly turned section consists of two spaced, coplanar parts.

hold the package against displacement relative to the shelf means.

4. A holder for a wax paper package or the like, comprising a sheet of metal having a body portion to be mounted vertically, aportion bent outwardly and upwardly from said body portion to constitute a guarded shelf for supporting the package, and a retainin portion bent to extend from and to form a U-shape with, said body portion at one side of said shelf portion, said retaining portion having a sharp-pointed extremity disposed to pierce and hold a package supported on the shelf portion.

5. A device for holding, in a horizontal position, a box containing a roll of wax paper or the like to be dispensed over an upper horizontal edge of the box, comprising a sheet of metal having a flat body portion to be mounted vertically, said body portion having a lateral extent of at least about half the lateral length of the box to be held, a portion extending from a lower edge of said body portion and bent outwardly and upwardly to constitute a flanged, box-supporting shelf, and a portion extendin from a lateral end of the body portion and having a sharp-pointed extremity, said pointed portion being bent out wardly and laterally into a horizontal 'U shape with the body portion, so that the pointed exti emity can pierce and hold the end of the sum ported box, said shelf portion being spaced laterally from said pointed portion so that not more than half the length of the supported box ex tends beyond the shelf portion in an opposite direction'from the pointed portion. A

SEYMGUR REFERENCES CITED 7 The following references are of record in "the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

